News Corp. Donates $1 Million to U.S. Chamber of Commerce

The News Corporation, whose holdings include The Wall Street Journal and the Fox News Channel, has donated $1 million to the United States Chamber of Commerce, the business advocacy group that is among the heaviest anti-Democratic advertisers in this year's elections.

The donation is News Corp.'s second known contribution to a group that is advertising heavily to support Republicans this year. In August, News Corp. confirmed that it had donated $1 million to the Republican Governors Association. The second donation is sure to add to the political heat that surrounds News Corp. and its potent corporate offspring, the Fox News Channel, which has come under increasing fire from Democrats who have questioned its political motives — accusations that have received especially full-throated answers from the network's stable of opinionated hosts this election season. The Chamber has vowed to spend around $75 million on this year's elections, and the effort has overwhelmingly focused on defeating Democrats, though the Chamber has made exceptions in some races. News Corporation has a political action committee that has donated to both parties this year, as have those of Comcast (which is in the process of acquiring a 51 percent stake in the company that holds NBC News and MSNBC). Time Warner (whose holdings include CNN and Time magazine). and CBS Corp (parent of CBS News). But nothing on record is on the order of the $2 million the News Corporation is now known to have given to the Republican Governor's Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.